The Thin Lines
by shadowcat238
Summary: There are two maxims that govern any world. One is that for every emotion, there is another opposite and equally powerful one. The other is that between those two emotions, there is a very thin line that distinguishes them.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: This is a plot bunny that has hatched into my brain and refused to be blocked from my mind. Sara, I have noticed, doesn't get much attention and whenever she does, it's sometimes in a negative way. This story is based on my strange affinity for ironic twists and pairings-that-never-were. I also had a Kaname/Yuuki story that I had planned to post first, and this one would come later, but my creativity then consigned all of its resources to this story instead.

Time line: This story is supposed to take place after chapter 45.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.

Summary: There are two maxims that govern any world. One is that for every emotion, there is another that is opposite and equally powerful. Love and hate; Anger and fear, happiness and sadness. The other is that between those two emotions lies a very thin line that distinguishes them.

* * *

The Thin Lines

Chapter 1: The Gilded Cage

She was perfect, wasn't she?

As Sara sat before her vanity, she looked at herself. An angular yet cherubic face, flawless alabaster skin, bright almond-shaped dark blue eyes, and a cascade of silvery-white curls down her back met her gaze.

Aside from her pulchritude, she had been raised as any dignified pureblood should be: since she was young, she had been trained in traditional arts such as voice and dance, had studied under a multitude of tutors who all said that she was intellectually precocious, was a connoisseur in art and fashion, had been taught to play various instruments since she could hold the bow of a violin in her hand, had good connections in the vampire social world, and had all of the qualities of a refined lady.

But all of that had apparently not been enough to sway Kaname Kuran.

She remembered their last rendezvous, at the gala.

* * *

"_We purebloods have to stick together." Sara said, reaching up to touch his cheek. _

_She had hoped to find a gleam of difference in his eyes, to give her the faintest hope that they would one day bring their clans into alliance, but his aloof demeanor did not slip an edge. His hand came up and pulled hers away. _

_"Indeed." He said politely. _

_His lips did not make contact with her fingertips as he "kissed" them, as it was proper conduct in their society that a female pureblood is not kissed by anyone other than her fiancé. _

_When he let go of her hand, he excused himself to greet the other people. _

_Sara's eyes wandered to the upper floor, where they glimpsed a pair of wide eyes glance at her before disappearing. Moments later, Kaname went upstairs and through the same door that the voyeur had gone through and stayed in there for quite a time. _

* * *

Sara felt bitterness prick at her soul because of the memory, but quickly quelled it; she had no reason to be jealous.

As she found out later, the girl was Kaname's sister and the two had been betrothed since they were very young. They had chosen each other and the continuation of a pureblood line was all but ensured.

Still, where would that leave her?

Aside from the Kuran clan, very few other vampire clans could boast that they had a male pureblood to…give her.

Perhaps there would be a special disposition and Kaname would marry both her and Yuuki; it wouldn't be the first time that this occurred among purebloods; according to her father's history tomes, Purebloods repeatedly committed the human taboo of incest and, although not all humans completely condemned this practice, polygamy to keep their bloodlines pure and their race alive.

But, they would be married in name only; they would do their duties and be courteous to one another, and that would be all.

Sara then considered her father for a moment; he was pureblood and male, except that after Sara had been born, he had had no other issue. Sara was now the only vampire, or human for the matter, who knew why. If anyone else found out, despite their lineage, neither her nor her father would ever be able to hold their heads up again in the Vampire society. After all, Purebloods were known for—no, it was actually an expectation for a Pureblood to have such a 'talent'—their fertility…

Sara looked up at her reflection and chided herself for thinking about love in a marriage of convenience; for those like her, there was limited to no choice on the matter. Their way of life must be preserved like their progenitors and for their progeny.

Besides, what was love worth in comparison to the future of her people and what an advantageous marriage could bring to herself and her family?

* * *

_Outside the Mansion_

He could smell how close she was; all purebloods must have a distinct smell to them.

Zero looked up at the balcony, where rays of light perforated the transparent curtains. The female pureblood was close. He knew that it was a female because her scent was distinctly feminine, almost like that of Yuuki's—

Zero stopped; willing himself not to think about _her_.

For him, it had come slowly; creeping silently and he found himself fighting his feelings towards her more and more strongly as they grew together. His efforts were inefficacious and wound up hurting only himself; when he found out the truth, it tortured him, taunted him. He had made his promise to kill all purebloods, but to kill her was tantamount to killing a mockingbird.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it and Yuuki had chosen her brother and fiancé anyways.

_"And I'll keep running…to give you a reason to live."_ Zero smiled ruefully; that was something that he would have expected Yuuki to say, it was so in her character to be that noble and subtly polyamorous girl who pulls out of any situation unscathed by making everyone "happy."

After she had left, the voices came back; the voices of his parent and of Yagari, his master. "Why didn't you kill her?" they demanded. "You made a promise!" It was her fault, they said, that he had grown weak and was manipulated.

_'Stop it. Stop it.' _He berated himself. Tonight would be his redemption; tonight, he would prove his valor as a born Vampire Hunter.

Zero turned to the thatch of vines growing on the side and tested them for sturdiness; they would hold him, he could climb up.

* * *

As Sara stood up to go to bed, she heard a crash behind her and turned to find a human—no, a hunter—rising from the shards of glass and pointing a large gun at her.

"Vampire!" He tightened his grip on the gun's handle as he spat out the word.

He was here, he was ready to kill, he was going to fulfill his duty.

But suddenly, her bright curls became dark and straight, her navy-colored eyes brightened into a burgundy shade, and she was standing before him; clutching her neck where blood seeped through her fingertips and stained the white shirt under her dark jacket. She leaned against the handle of the stairs and looked aghast; regarding him as what he really was.

"Yuuki—." His grip on the Bloody Rose slackened.

A moment later, just as he steeled his resolve, guards burst in and wrestled to the ground.

"Oh, my lady; forgive me! I—I had thought—!" One of the maids began, but Sara paid no attention.

Two of the guards pulled Zero, who had his hands restrained behind his back, up and turned to their mistress.

"Do not be disturbed; we will remove him and this will not repeat." They bowed before exiting with their struggling prisoner.

As they left, one of the guards stayed behind.

The guard was young and handsome enough; alabaster skin, emerald eyes, and brown hair that curled around his ears. His eyes shone a dark green as he looked from the exiting guards to Sara.

"Are you alright, Sara?" He asked, taking a step closer to her.

"Yes, Colin; I am well now." Sara replied as she watched him come even closer; his green eyes glassed over with hurt.

"Why are you so different to me now? Is it because of those Kurans?" Colin could not keep the spite out of his voice when he mentioned Kaname and Yuuki Kuran. Colin had long considered Kaname an adversary in his…pursuit of Sara, and now there was another pureblood in the picture, drastically altering the status quo.

"Of course not, Colin." Sara said, vexed by his affront of a Pureblood clan.

"I—I apologize. It's just…I care about you." He took her other hand in his.

"I know." Her lips twitched in trying to suppress her smile. She had known Colin for the longest of time; he had been her guardian and as close to a friend as she had known since she was a toddler and he a young boy of seven.

But now, they were grown.

"Colin…" Sara began.

"Yes, Sara?" He leaned in closer.

"Please withdraw from me and release my hands; it is inappropriate for you to be in my chamber at this time." She said, feeling his fingers tighten their grip before reluctantly letting go. He let go and, with a stiff bow, exited the room.

As he closed the door, his features crinkled in anger; she had spurned him.

He was not stupid; he knew that purebloods needed to preserve their line. Did one mistake thirty generations ago still trickle through to his blood? The woman had bewitched his ancestor into fornicating with her, but after generations of illegitimate births and well-planned intermarriages, the blood that flowed through Colin's veins were almost as pure as Sara's. But that one blemish, like one stain of blood on an otherwise perfectly spotless white sheet…

There were others like him whom he could take as a bride, but think of the gains that he could obtain if he married and bred with a pureblood!

"Colin?" Looking up, Colin saw Hana, Sara's servant, in front of him and scrutinizing his demeanor.

"Yes, Hana?" He asked; making sure to keep his voice soft and breathy. He watched as the young woman's cheeks colored and her manner soften; Hana had made it clear that she wanted him for some time now, and she didn't seem to see that he did not reciprocate.

"It is late; you should retire." Hana said and then continued her path down the hallway.

"What of the intruder?" Colin suddenly asked.

Hana stopped; her father had told her not to share that information with anyone. But, the man asking her about it was _Colin_...

"The other guards have placed him in the dungeon." Hana said after a moment of hesitation.

The young man smirked; he could always count on Hana to tell him what he wanted, no matter how confidential the information was.

Tomorrow, Colin decided, he would go to Sara's father and ask for Sara's hand in matrimony; Sara's father liked Colin, and Colin was sure that one little blemish would not be discouraging enough for Sara's father to refuse.

But tonight, he felt the need to deliver some punishment to that audacious vampire hunter for intruding upon Sara in the sanctity of her room.

* * *

I apologize if this chapter is not accurate in any way; where I live, the bookstores only have Vampire Knight volumes up to volume 5 and I have been too lazy to download scanned versions of the later volumes from the websites and read it myself.

Review, please.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, everybody! Sorry about the long hiatus: unfortunately, life and writer's block got in the way.

On another note, thank you so much for giving this story a chance and for your encouraging reviews!

Disclaimer: If I owned anything, I probably wouldn't be writing FANfiction for it, now would I?

* * *

"No!"

"Master Shirabuki—!"

"I said no!" The master glared at the pretentious young guard, outraged that he would even harbor such an idea.

Colin's hands clenched. "Who else will marry her and produce worthy heirs?" he questioned.

The blow that Shirabuki directed to Colin threw Colin into the bookcase on the opposite side of the room.

"She will not have you. She is _pure_." Colin ground his teeth at the last word. Pure: how that word has haunted him since his birth. With Sara, his line would grow closer to becoming pure. There was just the matter of the old man standing in the way…

"You are dismissed." Shirabuki's cutting voice interrupted Colin's machinations. For a moment, neither of them moved. They only glowered at each other.

Bound by the rules, Colin had to wordlessly bow and exit.

* * *

When Sara woke up in the morning, Hana was standing at the side of her bed. "We are expecting visitors today, Shirabuki-sama." Hana said.

Sara nodded, allowing her to leave, and turned her gaze to her balcony's glass door. It had been repaired as she slept and looked as good as new.

When Sara walked into her closet and reached to take a navy shirt off of a shelf, a servant grabbed it for her. The same thing happened when Sara reached for a black calf-length skirt and a pair of daintily heeled sandals. The servants then came forward and began to dress her.

_'I can dress myself.' _She thought as she raised her arms for the servant to put the shirt on her.

When Sara finished, she walked to the staircase where her father was expecting her. He regarded Sara's dark and plain dress disapprovingly. "Hana, take Sara back and dress her more appropriately." He ordered.

Without a word, Sara and Hana went back to Sara's room. The servants were still in her closet when Sara arrived and they silently undressed her, dressed her in a lacy lavender gown, and put makeup on her.

Sara then met her father again, and waited there for a few moments before the visitors—Kaname and Yuuki Kuran—were announced.

Both of them were dressed in plain black, but Sara felt as if she was dressed in rags upon seeing how they glowed.

"Kaname. Yuuki." Sara's father immediately swaggered forward and began greeting them. The two were very uncomfortable being touched by anyone other than each other, Sara observed. Shirabuki shot a stare at his daughter, questioning why she was just standing there like a dumb doll. Sara arched her back and ascended the stairs, greeting them properly.

"Come, let us all go and have tea." Due to years of always being treated like a demigod, and since he perceived himself to be the oldest of the group, Shirabuki did not bother to modify his condescending tone.

Wordlessly—_like stupid sheep_, Shirabuki thought—the vampires followed.

* * *

Immediately after Yuuki and Sara entered the sitting room, Shirabuki pulled Kaname into his private study and shut the door.

Sara could not bring herself to look at Yuuki for the first moments afterwards. When Sara did look at the radiant princess, she narrowly avoided spitting out the offer, "tea?" Yuuki smiled and nodded, sitting down on the nearest couch.

Sara sat across from her, poured the tea expertly, and handed her a cup. Yuuki silently accepted it and took a few sips before turning her attention back to Sara.

"How are you?" Yuuki asked.

_'What a stupid question. What else would you expect from a stupid, coarse—?'_ Sara stopped: she was jealous again. She has no reason to be jealous…there is no reason…

"Sara?" Yuuki's voice penetrated Sara's thoughts, like thunder through a quiet hillside.

"I am well." Sara replied eloquently, ignoring the pain in her face as she smiled.

She could not look her in the face, so Sara's eyes drifted lower and to the side. _'There is a slope on her belly.'_ She realized upon close inspection.

"Is it…?" Sara couldn't say it. Yuuki blushed and nodded, and Sara felt hollower than ever.

"That is wonderful. How do you feel?" Thankfully, the conversation flowed much more easily after that. This was a joyous occasion, and Sara could easily displace any of her personal feelings in favor of the collective consensus.

* * *

Everything hurt. Her head hurt from processing all of the details. Her feet hurt from running so much. Her stomach hurt because of the void inside of it.

Yuuki and Sara had been conversing well, until Yuuki stopped and grabbed at her belly. Sara reached out instinctively, and felt the child kicking.

"It becomes unbearable at times." Yuuki suddenly confessed. Despite how Sara knew that she should not take those words the wrong way—since, of course, she had never experienced pregnancy—her insides and mind contorted in anger: it was an _honor_ to carry the seed of the Kuran clan, _she_ should be honored and the pain should be an honor!

"I'll fetch you someone to help you." Sara remembered saying that before briskly exiting the room, summoning a maid, and then fleeing through the halls. However, she could not run from the pain fast enough, and finally capitulated.

Leaning against a tall vase, Sara began to sob. To one who cries occasionally, it would seem like Sara was quietly sobbing over what was possibly a minor unfortunate event. To Sara, it seemed like she was wailing loudly enough for the entire household to hear, and she could not control her sobs no matter how hard she tried.

As she began to feel normal again, Sara began wiping her face to rid it of all of the makeup that had smudged during her tears.

"Sara." Kaname's voice suddenly rang out when she finished. He was in the middle of the hallway, and had been just around the corner and waiting for her to regain her composure before approaching her so that she would not feel embarrassed.

"Hello." Sara greeted, attempting to be warm. Kaname took a step towards her.

"Your father and I were talking about you." Another step.

"Oh?" She took one as well.

"About marriage." Another step.

"Oh." She had expected it, but would not feign ignorance. Another step.

"What do you want, regarding marriage?" He was less than a foot away from her.

"I would be honored to—." Sara began, and Kaname stopped her.

"I did not ask for what you would be honored to do. I asked you for what you want."

But, Sara did not want. As a member of the upper vampire class, it was her duty to do what was best for those below her.

"I want…for you to be happy."

Kaname's face was stone, but his eyes were water; in them, Sara could see his disappointment.

_'Wait, please! Whatever I did wrong, I will make up for it!_' she almost put her thoughts into words when Kaname put a finger to her lips.

"I will be happy when you realize what truly makes you happy." Without another word, he left.

* * *

That night, Sara did not sit in front of her vanity table and gaze at her own perfection, because now she saw nothing but an imperfect little girl.

_What makes me happy?_

Now she could not get that question out of her mind: did anything in particular _make_ her happy?_ Is_ she happy? She shifted in her bed again, suddenly unable to find a comfortable spot.

_What makes me happy?_

She had not been able to listen to her father's boasting about how he had all but secured a marriage contract for her or his scolding at how she should have done better.

_What makes me happy?_


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, everyone! I'm back again. I know, I've been pretty dead: but I have many hobbies, and seem to indulge in them periodically, assuming that my education does not get in the way. I've also been extensively revising old stories and writing new ones. It's very interesting (and, I'll admit, a bit embarassing) to go back and see what you wrote years ago.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except perhaps the characters I created.

Chapter 3: the fading facade

* * *

Zero had laughed as the guards fettered him to the wall.

Whatever they had in store for him, he would welcome it; he deserved to be obliterated after showing such weakness.

The fragile little girl that he was about to kill transformed into Yuuki and he_ faltered_. What if this happened with every female target he was assigned? He was a hunter who could not hunt.

Useless, useless…

* * *

The next time he glanced up was when he heard the door to his cell open: a young man about his age marched in and stopped within ten feet of him.

The two regarded each other, the disdain and hatred cutting each other apart.

As the guard took a step forward, Zero assumed a ready stance.

The door to the cell slammed shut, and Zero was never more vigilant. If it was a fight that the vampire wanted, he would get more than he could handle this time.

* * *

Sara lapped delicately at his neck, deliberately taking every drop of blood in a dainty and civilized manner.

As she fed, she listened to some of his thoughts. _'It is an honor to be chosen for this task…the privilege to nourish a pureblood…Shirabuki-sama is the most noble, graceful, and benevolent pureblood…'_

Then, Sara heard it.

She pushed him away and regarded him coldly. "You may leave."

The vampire obeyed.

Sara sat at her chaise, contemplating what she had heard. Well, she had to commend the vampire for being honest. His lapse in sycophancy had shown that she was still egregious among the lower bloods.

His final thought echoed in her mind: '_Parasite.' _

* * *

No one dared to speak of it in the presence of purebloods, and to speak of it in Sara's presence would bring a long and painful death, but all vampires—with the exception of the insane level Es—whispered about Sara's parasitism.

When Sara was born, both mother and daughter were very healthy and her mother personally nursed Sara.

The progress was slow, but showed itself by Sara's first birthday. At first, Sara's mother complained of headaches, then of melancholy, then of fatigue, then of a cough, then of fevers, then of sudden onsets of pain. As Sara grew taller, moved faster, and became wiser, her mother atrophied. By Sara's third birthday, her mother was completely bedridden.

Soon, the entire household was whispering of the antitheses that mother and daughter presented. While Sara ate, her mother could not bear the site of food. While Sara ran, her mother became more tired and thin. While Sara drank blood with abandon, her mother had to be force-fed it.

Sara's mother soon began to have episodes of delusions, talking to fireplaces and screaming at urns, asserting that a guard was her great-grandfather, screaming one night that she was burning.

All the while, Sara studied her lessons. She was fluent in three languages by age five, had read half of the books in her father's vast library by age nine, and had grasped the concepts of algebra by age ten. Her tutors praised her, but they were uneasy as well. They tried to curb her lessons, to see if it would have an effect on her mother, but Sara was by that time insatiable and would not be denied.

A few weeks before Sara's eleventh birthday, her mother died. At the time of her death, she was an emaciated mass of bones that could barely focus her eyes. Dutifully, Sara dressed in her mourning clothes and attended the funeral. To all of the observers, even in her white mourning gown and with the solemn look upon her face, Sara looked positively radiant.

Throughout the funeral and the month of mourning, Sara remained rigidly composed: she had respected her mother, but there was no apparent love between them. The mother could neither hold nor kiss her daughter as the daughter grew, and the daughter had been barred from seeing her mother by zealous servants who cleaved to their mistress. Her father had not been a loving figure either.

In fact, Sara grew up in a cold environment. She yearned for affection and love as she had read in the fairy tales and romance novels that she had come across in some of the servants' possessions or had heard servants telling their children. Of course, it was out of the question to ask for it from anyone else, and downright wrong to demand it—even with her upbringing, she knew that demanding would only bear artificial results.

After the funeral, Sara let herself cry in her room. Her tears were for the loss of another pureblood female. Even at her age, she knew the significance of her mother's death: Sara was now one of the only purebloods left.

* * *

"But, Master Shirabuki—!" One of the guards began.

"No! The pri—Zero Kiryuu, is to be left alone." Although he would never forgive that boy for attacking his Sara, Shirabuki had no choice to comply with Kaname's wishes.

_"And that prisoner that you have, Zero Kiryuu, is not to be harmed. The Vampire world is indebted to him." _Kaname had said to Master Shirabuki during his last visit.

As a request from a fellow pureblood, and the head of the prestigious Kuran clan, obeying was the only option.

Shirabuki was now convinced that Kaname had grown senile, despite Kaname being younger than him. Kaname is not worthy to lead the vampires…

It was time that other, more worthy vampires, seized control.

* * *

For this reason, an effigy—and not the prisoner–took the brunt of Colin's rage.

He had disobeyed by going to the prisoner's cell to fight him, but it was for the greater good: that prisoner had to pay for even thinking of hurting _his_ Sara.

Before either could strike, the captain charged in and forced Colin from the prison cell. Master Shirabuki then proceeded to acerbically denounce his actions.

This had left him completely confused; why was that man defending the prisoner? He had tried to murder _his_ Sara!

To Colin, this was further evidence that the man had grown senile, he simply did not understand the dynamics anymore. Shirabuki is not worthy of leading pureblood clan…

It was time that another, and more worthy, vampire seized control.

* * *

Alright, this is where I must leave you all. Hope you don't hate me too much. Please review: I immensely appreciate constructive feedback. :)


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